William Gaines
Senator William Gaines was one of the leading politicians of the United Earth Government and known to be one of the powerhouses behind many events following the Human-Covenant War, up until his death at the hands of General in 2575. Biography Early Career William Gaines' rise to power was rapid and swift. Using his experiences as a Captain in the UNSC Army during his campaigns against Insurrectionists from his enlistment in 2491 - 2502. He joined the UNSC Army to defend his homeworld of Titan, Saturn's sixth moon after an Insurrectionist attack destroyed several government buildings in Titan's city of Karabag, killing Gaines' father. Initially, he joined the Army out of spite and hatred towards the Insurrectionist Movement, but over time, after eleven long years of fighting them, William Gaines came to understand why they fought. They fought for their homes against the war machine billions of light-years away from them. His understanding would come to help him in his political career, which he immediately began to pursue after returning home to Titan around Christmas of 2502. It wasn't long before he was the Representative to Earth from Titan, fighting for equality between the Inner and Outer Colonies after his election in 2508. His staunch support of the Insurrection came under heavy dissension and hatred from members of the Inner Colonies and Earth itself, earning him very few friends, but within the Outer Colonies, he was regarded as being one of the few politicians who "actually got" what they were all fighting for, earning much respect there. However, it wasn't long before William Gaines returned to the military when after the Covenant attacks were made public in 2528, Gaines became the civilian member of the UNSC Security Committee, the governing body of the UNSC. He would sit in that seat from 2531 to 2560. UNSC Security Committee As a member of the UNSC Security Committee, William Gaines was privvy to most of the secrets that otherwise, most civilians would never know. Gaines was a close friend of fellow Councilor Vice Admiral Margaret Parangosky, the Director of the Office of Naval Intelligence and so, knew about many of their secret projects and facilities such as the Infinity, Onyx, or the Spartan-III and Spartan-IV programs. During this time, his power often became tested by General, who was often more of a threat to soveriegn peace than anything else, but he often sided with whatever kept humanity safest. He was a driving force during the Human-Nyx War, determined not to let another alien race attempt to destroy Humanity. President of the UEG He resigned his commission to the UNSC Security Committee when in, 2560, he was elected publicly to be the President of the United Earth Government, an office he held from 2560 until his death in 2575. This typically would not be possible as Presidents were forbidden to taking just two terms of four years each (eight years total), but the Oblivion Event in 2564 forced him to seek the seat for longer, holding onto his seat while construction of new Human cities were underway because he believed that a stronger, more unified Humanity was more useful to each other. Death & Entrapment On December 6, 2575, General attacked and destroyed the Capitol building of the human city of Esperanza while fighting Thel 'Vadamee and during the conflict, everyone contained within it was killed and corrupted into a single piece of darkened material that General used as a sword to try to defeat Thel 'Vadamee. Unfortunately, the Capitol building was the capital of Esperanza, where President Gaines was staying. His body was crushed and destroyed by the very being he had spent decades fighting politically, his soul imprisoned within the sword. It wasn't long before his personality won out over the others, using their souls as nourishment... and then seeking more and more. The Gaines Blade is consistently hungry for more souls, ever hungry to destroy and kill. Personality If he had stayed within the UNSC, he might have become a General. He has a no-nonsense personality that refuses to believe in no-win scenarios. Often viewed as a dick by many of his constituents, Gaines doesn't care that most people do not like him, which only makes people hate him more. Relationships General Perhaps his biggest regret in life was that he never considered General an actual threat... He probably does now that he's dead, though. He hated General before and just after his death... but there's not much left of him now. Margaret Parangosky Good friends stick with each other to the end... literally... they are both slaves of General now in the afterlife.